she’s a knife in the water

Divine Fits may be an indie supergroup, but they sound a lot less like their other bands than one would expect. Comprising Britt Daniel (Spoon), Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs), and Sam Brown (The New Bomb Turks), there is some unavoidable familiarity (both Daniel and Boeckner have fairly identifiable voices), but overall A Thing Called Divine Fits treads ground not explored by their individual projects.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is the album’s overarching synth-filled 80s vibe. Lead track/single “My Love Is Real” did an excellent job of raising the flag to this fact, but expectations got in the way of realizing this would be the band’s modus operandi. Album favorites “Baby Get Worse” and “For Your Heart” further typify the sound – “Baby Get Worse” is diggable with its thick shimmy and danceable yet sullen “For Your Heart” is perfectly capped with a lovely guitar line at its end.

Despite the overall likability of A Thing Called Divine Fits, it’s got its imperfections. “Shivers” quickly becomes boring as it becomes clear that the song never really goes anywhere. “Like Ice Cream” takes a small step up by using vocals as part of the rhythm section, but it too seems out of place after the largely electronic-influenced rest of the album.

The good does far outweigh the boring, though, and there’s no doubt that the live pedigree of Daniel’s and Boeckner’s bands will make for an electric live show. What makes you shoulder shimmy in your seat on record will surely make you get up and dance in person.

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A Thing Called Divine Fits drops 08.28.12.
Find out more by visiting the official Divine Fits website.

now the lightbulb’s gone off

Absolutely no one will be surprised that Spoon put out another fantastic album. No one. So we’ll just get that out of the way right now: the album is great, go listen to it now, please. Now, a bit more analysis for those who are interested in more than the bottom line.

Where Spoon’s last release, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, was ebullient with its horns and straight-up soul, Transference is stifled and intimate and doesn’t show its hand. Opening track “Before Destruction” is almost more of an impression than a song proper, piquing the listener’s curiosity as to where the album is going. The album fleshes out with hypnotic basslines and dance-ready drums, with ebbing guitar and relaxed vocals giving the songs shape.

The album blends both dug-in-the-ground, shit-kicking, Austin pride (“Written in Reverse”, “Trouble”) with outside influences like the harnessed energy of the early-90s alt-rock charts (“Got Nuffin”) and Duran Duran, if they’d been darker club kids instead of Miami Vice extras (“Nobody Gets Me But You”). Though these things may seem disparate, they all come together for a remarkably coherent release.

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Transference dropped 01/19/10.
Listen to the album here.